In the field of the semiconductor devices thin metal layers such as aluminum or copper layers are widely used for forming wiring layers of integrated circuits.
In the field of power devices, comparatively thick metal layers, for example of copper or aluminum are used. Thick metal layers may be efficiently used for discharging large currents or leading off a large amount of heat that may be generated due to a short-circuit, for example.
For example, for so-called power metallizations, thicknesses of the wiring of more than 2 μm and even more than 5 μm have been employed. Nevertheless, in integrated circuits having a wiring of such a large thickness fatigue has increasingly been observed. In particular, it has been observed that metal wirings tend to delaminate from the base element and increasingly show cracks so that these integrated circuits exhibit deterioration during thermal or electrical loading.
Accordingly, there is a need of improving integrated circuits comprising a copper element which solves the above-mentioned problems.